Introducing a new way to embed widgets

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Today, we’re pleased to announce enhancements to how you embed widgets on your website. Before I dive into the details, let me start with a quick overview of key takeaways:

The new widget environment provides an improved interface and changes how code is embedded on your site.

The Feedback Widget is now named the Classic Widget.

Widget settings are no longer saved in the UserVoice admin console.

Your existing widgets will continue to work but can no longer be edited, nor will they be visible in your admin console.

We’ve added a new feature: first class support for embedding the contact form directly into your page via an iframe.

Improved InterfaceYou now have two different types of Classic Widgets to choose from, Popup or Inline, and generating code for each is a breeze with our widget builder. Both widgets allow you to customize the design (colors, default tab selection, etc.), but the Popup widget lets you determine how you want the contact form to launch:

You have three choices: from a tab, from a link, or with Javascript, which gives you the ability to determine how the contact form is triggered.

As you make your selections, the code is generated for you. All you have to do is copy and paste.

The Inline widget enables you to embed the form directly on a web page, like your contact page, for example.

Widget settings

One important difference to note is that your widget settings (colors, placement, etc.) are no longer saved in the admin console. That means if you use the widget builder to make changes to your widget, essentially you’re creating a fresh widget and will need to embed the updated code for changes to take effect. So, now, embedding a widget on your site is just like embedding a YouTube video, for example. The new environment is much more developer friendly and a great improvement over our previous system:

For example, if you want to change a color, there’s no need to head into the admin console to update your widget; you can just tweak the color right in your page’s code.

Let’s say you want one widget for each forum you have. Previously, you had to make a bunch of widgets. Now, you only need to make one widget, and you can just tweak the forum_id programmatically based on where the user is in your app.

Existing widgetsDon’t worry that your existing widgets will suddenly disappear from your site or stop working. As I mentioned, they’ll still work but you can no longer edit them, and they’re no longer visible in the admin console. Once you need to make changes, you’ll have to create a Classic Widget. You can find more information here.

Our new widget environment is the foundation for a lot of exciting changes and enhancements to come, and we very much look forward to your feedback. If you have any questions, please let us know.

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